CASE STUDY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS. Accurate data is essential for monitoring and managing the environment and
enabling the design and implementation of effective environmental regulation.
Recognising the hazards posed by pollution, the EU has developed an extensive
body of legislation which establishes health-based standards and objectives for
pollutants in air, water and soil. Key to the successful implementation of these
policies is an underpinning measurement infrastructure that ensures that
environmental data is robust and consistent across monitoring networks, across
national borders and over time.
As allowable pollutant levels decrease, and new types of pollutant are identified,
measurement capabilities must be constantly improved to support robust and fit-
for-purpose pollutant monitoring and mitigation. This requires both improved
measurement accuracy across the measurement infrastructure – at National
Measurement Institutes, in accredited laboratories and in environmental monitoring
networks – and the development of innovative, practical and cost-effective
measurement technologies.
NEW MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES TO PROTECT THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT Underwater noise from man-made activity, such as shipping or construction work,
can have a profound effect on marine organisms such as whales, damaging their
hearing or driving them from their native habitats. European directives are in place
to protect the most vulnerable species, but no validated calibration methods were
available for underwater measurement instruments in the sound range of greatest
environmental concern.
Download the full case study
IMPROVING INNER CITY AIR QUALITY Small particles from petrol and diesel engine exhausts create major hazards in city
air, especially for those with asthma or other breathing problems. The EU‘s Air
Quality Directive requires monitoring of airborne pollution which is
important for assessing the effectiveness of strategies such as London‘s ultralow
emission zone. Ensuring the accuracy of instruments used for measuring vehicle
